Whilst I think it’s great that you are traveling with your dogs and I hope you manage to find lots of sitting opportunities we would not accept a sitter bringing any pets to our home while we are away simply because I do not believe it would be fair on our three dogs. Our dogs are also very well behaved, as can be seen from our sitter feedback, and we often welcome friends at home with their dogs, even ones that are unused to socialising as being around ours is very good for them. However it is stressful enough for us leaving them with strangers that the additional worry that bringing strange dogs into their territory would cause us would not make for a relaxing break away.
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I joined THS autumn 2017 and enjoyed house/pet sitting greatly. I now have a young (14 month) small dog of my own. I think it would be good if THS had a notification on the house owners site that gave the house owners the option to say yes/no to sitters brining their own dog. I have applied for a few sits since getting my dog and those people have been agreeable to me taking my dog although the sits didn’t happen due to restrictions at the time. What do others think?
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Hi @macdog welcome to our community forum
Apologies @macdog for not picking up on your point about owners indicating the fact that they will accept sitters pets, yes it is a good idea and will pass to product.
There are owners who do welcome sitters with their own pets, having that as a option on their listing is being proactive, there will be those who would choose to decide after starting the conversation also and might not include on their info.
When sitters choose to travel with their companion, providing full information about your pet on your profile will help owners make an informed decision about whether or not their own animals might welcome another dog into their home environment.
Thank you for being part of our amazing community since 201, enjoy the conversations and connecting with other TrustedHousesitters members.
Angela and the team
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I always thought of taken our dog with us on sits but so far it was not possible. To have that ‚tick‘ option on a sit preference would be great.
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Our girl is staying with her ‚grandma‘ if she can’t join us.
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I like this suggestion very much. I have recently adopted a small terrier mix who will stay with family or housesitters when I travel internationally, but I think I would consider many more short domestic sits if she could tag along on adventures closer to home!
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What an ideal scenario that would be. Filters like airbnb please for owners and sitters
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Hi Macdog. In the UK, I’ve asked people offering sits if they will accept my application if my small Cavalier King Charles Spaniel comes with me. I rarely have someone else to look after him. I’ve had lots of ‘No, thanks but no’ replies and this is fine. I always thank the sitter for replying. It would be INCREDIBLY useful if a sit advertised if they would accept an application with one’s own dog. Where I have taken my dog with me, this has worked out very well and I try to recommend that the home owner mentions this in the feedback for others to see. I’ve travelled to the US for one sit and obviously my own dog stayed at home on that occasion.
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Hi @LTD welcome to out community forum and thank you for your input on this question it’s one for product to look at. We’re so glad you’ve joined and thank you for being part of our amazing community. Enjoy the conversations and connecting with other members … thank you again.
Angela & The Team
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I have read all the replies to my comment about having an indication that house owners would be ok for a sitter with a dog. I note that some people said - they get a relative to look after their dog while sitting - I for instance have NO relatives (I have a friend who has offered but obviously I wouldn’t be able to do this very often). I also saw someone wrote “just ask the house owner”! Well I’ve done that but if the answer is a definite NO then you have a) got enthusiastic about a possible sit; b) spent time sending an application for people to take time to read. It would seem a lot easier all round if there was a specific place where house/pet owners could just tick YES or NO to accepting pets.
Obviously I accept that probably most people would say no because they don’t know how the other dog will react to strange place/dog etc.
Just a thought for your web designer type folk to consider? I see from comments that I’m not the only one thinking this would be a good idea.
Thanks for reading.
Loraine
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Loraine, I absolutely agree. I have no one to look after my own dog. I have to ask friends months in advance if they will take him for a weekend or a week if I want to go away. He comes into school every day with me and so I don’t use doggy day care which anyway, is prohibitively expensive. I don’t trust ‘Borrow my Doggy’ sites as I have a show dog and a companion who, if stolen, would crush me. I spend a lot of time composing my sit applications and I acknowledge that the HO might not want my dog in their house. I accept this upfront.
I also wonder if THS keep a ‘tally’ on people and rejected applications? If so, I must be near the top of that list!
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That definitely needs to be upfront when the person is invited or in the persons profile or introductory email. We were confirming a sitter once and she assumed and was offended when she received our welcome guide regarding the need to Make sure our cats were not traumatized by another animal in the house.
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Hi, we always take our Newfoundland with us on our sits. @Provence had already dropped our name. I’ll say getting sits was probably not more complicated for us than for other sitters without pets.
But we have to give some context to our experiences.
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We already pointed out in our profile and every application that we expect that the HO also have to welcome our dog. Otherwise, we cannot accept the invitation. It is essential for us that a HO knows what he gets when he invites us.
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We only apply for sits where one or more dogs are to be cared for. We would never expect someone without a dog will accept a dog in their home. Dogs lose hair, and in the worst case, they will get dirty paws and wet coats. For us a sign of a fun day, but for others probably just dirt. If the dogs are/were wet and dirty, then they may smell sometimes. If the HO has a dog, he knows this, and he is also more likely to accept a sitter with his own dog. All HOs that invited us saw it as an advantage. Knowing that a dog owner is coming to sit, who bring their own dog with them gave them the feeling of getting a sitter who understood their dog’s needs and that their dog would have fun.
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As a HO, personally, I would never allow a sitter’s pets in my home. Our pets are elderly and their schedules and comfort easily thrown off. The cat would probably hide and spray when he realized another animal was in the house. I would also worry that the sitter’s own pet/s would get preferential care. There is added liability should their pet destroy something or worse. I have turned down sitters who mentioned bringing their own animals and am a little surprised it’s even an issue. Yes, TH needs to have a section where sitters can clearly state their own pet/s are accompanying them. Some people are fine with welcoming both people AND animals to their homes and it’s just easier for all of us if we can see upfront who’s bringing their pets.
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Hello @Tourmalinequeen welcome to our community forum and thank you for joining in this conversation.
This is topic receives a lot of attention and getting different perspectives from sitters and owners is incredibly helpful. It has been suggested that owners have the option of including: “Pet Friendly” similar to “Family Friendly” in their listings and on sitters profiles : “Travels with own pet”
We do impress on sitters to include all relevant information about their pet in their profile so that owners know up front that they travel as a family.
Welcome again, we look forward to sharing in your TrustedHousesitters journey and enjoy connecting with other community members.
Angela & The Team
I have been reading your comments on house sitters bringing their own dog to a sit.
Firstly, I would never just turn up at a house sit with my dog! I personally would not give more attention to my own dog than the home owner’s dog - the reverse if anything! I certainly would NOT consider taking my dog if there was a cat in the house, even if m dog was used to cats.
I have done house sits before I got my dog so that was straightforward but I just feel that if THS had a tick box for both parties to state how they felt about sitters with dogs it would be good. Some other sites do this. My friend would lok after my dog if I needed her to or I would even board my dog with a home boarder if I was keen to do a particular sit.
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I am new to THS but have been on another site for a year now. They recently introduced an option for HO’s to specify on their ad if they either a. welcome sitters pets or b. would maybe consider them. If there is neither comment then it is a clear no.
I have taken our very sociable placid 10 year old bichon/maltese on 3 sits this year and been accepted for 2 next year. We would never take her to a home with cats but then the OH is allergic so that is not an issue anyway.
It was such a helpful addition to the website as it means that I know which sits to ignore, which to review and decide if I think the dogs will be a good fit and which to apply for with confidence that we will be considered.
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Just been reading your post about house sitters and their dogs being allowed (or not) to sit.
I got your post in my email - not sure how it got there but possibly because a couple of months ago I did post a suggestion to THS that they should have a box that house owners could tick saying they would/would not accept sitters with dogs.
That’s great that you have been able to take your dog on three sits and accepted for another two.
Hopefully THS will add the ‘dogs accepted’ tick box one of these days.
Loraine
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I agree. I wish so much that THS would add this as a tick box. I get a lot of rejections only because I ask if my dog can come with me. The HOs are always v v polite and give an explanation, and I certainly don’t take it personally, but I wish it was clear which house sits WOULD accept the sitter’s dog.
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We’d like to start housesitting in the US & Europe.
Is it unusual to ask if we can bring our dog?
Do people say dogs welcome in the summary?
How do you determine if the dogs may get along?
Is Europe more lenient than the US?
What’s your experience?
A Californian asking.
Thanks for your insight.